A Cry for Help
by MarsStarPower
Summary: FFH SPOILERS IN STORY AND SUMMARY: In a twist on FFH, MJ ends up dating Brad, much to Peter's disappointment. But Peter realizes that MJ has started acting differently once school starts up again. He wants to help, but MJ knows she can't leave Brad. Because if she did, he would reveal the secret she's been hiding from everyone. Contains violence and themes of rape.


Author Notes:

This takes place after FFH. AU to Endgame: Tony survived, but was in a coma throughout all of FFH. No one was sure if he was going to survive, so Happy went ahead and gave EDITH to Peter and Peter fought Beck, so on. The only difference being that people were just on edge to see if Tony would pull through. Tony came out of the coma shortly after Peter returned from Europe. It is now about five months later (it's the very beginning of winter break).

Also MJ and Peter did not get together – she ended up with Brad for purposes of this narrative. But, she does know that he's Spider-man. Also the mid-credit scene didn't happen so his identity is still secret to the rest of the world.

MJ sighed at her phone.

Brad had texted her again, demanding to know where she was. She should have answered him five minutes ago, when he had first texted her, but she had been with Peter in the library.

Before he had the chance to text her again, MJ typed out a quick reply: _I'm so so sorry, sweetie. I was working with Cindy on a couple of things for a project due in January, so we wouldn't have to do it over break. I am leaving school now. Did you want me to meet you? _

She went to tuck her phone into her back jean pocket, but it dinged, alerting her to Brad's reply. Inhaling deeply to steady her nerves, she unlocked the phone, panic rising in her throat as she read the text.

_Don't lie, bitch. Mitchell saw you in the library with that prick Parker. You need to get to my house now. _

Fuck.

MJ rarely regretted her choices. Life was about making choices and potentially screwing up, after all. It was about making mistakes and learning.

But Brad was one mistake she didn't know how to fix.

She typed back a quick response to assure him she was on the way, and then hurried away from the school, desperate to get there quickly to lessen the punishment, but secretly wishing she didn't have to go at all.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. He couldn't get MJ off his mind, even though he knew he really needed to be focused on the improvements to his Iron Spider suit that Tony was going over.

She'd been off ever since the beginning of the school year, but he couldn't figure out why. At first, he'd assumed she was just nervous coming back to school as Brad's girlfriend, something he still loathed. If he hadn't been so focused on taking down Beck, all while wishing Tony was already out of his coma, he might have gotten through his plan. He might be MJ's boyfriend instead of Brad. But he'd failed. So caught up in Beck's illusions, that he'd lost her to the Ken-doll-wannabe.

Tony cleared his throat, jerking Peter out of his thoughts.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Tony glared at his protégé.

"Um, yes?"

"Alright, what was the last thing I said?" He crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable wrong answer.

"Uh…you upgraded Karen so that she'll alert me to elaborate schemes like illusions?" Peter avoided Tony's gaze, looking everywhere but at his mentor.

"That was like ten minutes ago, kid. Where are you right now?"

Peter felt guilty. He'd been ecstatic after Tony had come out of his coma, and the two were practically inseparable now. Tony had even insisted that May and Peter move in with him, Pepper, and Morgan. May and Peter had an entire floor to themselves, though May was often on Happy's floor. May and Happy, having admitted feelings for each other, were on a one-week Mediterranean cruise, leaving Peter alone with Tony, Pepper, and Morgan until just before Christmas.

He glanced around the room, trying to surreptitiously figure out what else Tony might have talked about based on the holograms that surrounded them. While the compound was being fixed up, Tony had purchased a building in the city not far from where the original Stark Tower had been. Tony had admitted that he'd opted to come back into the city because of Peter.

"Well, then you also mentioned this uh… is that an electrode of some kind?" He squinted at the hologram.

"It's the new air filter in your mask to keep out gases that might be hallucinogenic." Tony's voice made it clear he was displeased with Peter's inattentive behavior.

Peter lowered his eyes to the ground. "Sorry, Tony."

"Well you haven't reverted back to calling me Mr. Stark yet, so that's something. What's going on?" Tony sipped at his coffee, grimacing at the pull of his Vibranium arm on his shoulder socket. He still wasn't quite used to it, but if the choices were death vs. losing an arm from the stones, he would stick with dealing with the new arm. He'd get Shuri to Skype in later and see how he could adjust it so it didn't rub against him as much.

"I'm worried about MJ."

"How so?"

Peter wasn't surprised now that Tony didn't ask "who?" Ever since he'd woken from the coma, he'd paid closer attention to Peter's personal life. He'd even had MJ and Ned over for movie nights a couple of times since then, claiming that he was 'checking them out' to make sure they were on the up and up since they both knew he was Spider-man, but Peter knew it was because he wanted to be more involved.

"You know how I was saying she's been sort of distant lately?"

Tony nodded. "Did she start eating lunch with you and Ned again?"

"No, she's started vanishing altogether now. Brad doesn't always, but sometimes he does. It's just gotten worse. The distant looks and everything. After school today, we were coming up with the post-break study list for the February tournament, but she kept staring off into space. I tapped her shoulder at one point and she almost jumped out of her skin." Peter tapped his pencil on the desk. "She's never been jumpy. And she hasn't called me loser in forever. Come to think of it, she hasn't really teased me or made any jokes in general in weeks. I'm really worried, Tony."

"Tell me about this kid Brad. What do you know about him?"

"Brad? I mean, he's your average kid, I guess. He used to be on the football team but had to quit after an injury last year. I personally think he's a jerk, but I'm biased, let's be honest. A lot of the girls want to date him. Why?"

"She started to get distant after they began dating, right?"

Peter wasn't quite sure where Tony was headed with this. Brad was just a normal jerky kid. "Yeah…?"

"Do you think it's because of him? Is he the kind of kid who might mistreat her or demand she only pay attention to him?"

"Brad? I don't…I don't think so. Are you asking if he would, like, _hit_ _her_?" As much as Peter didn't like Brad, he wasn't sure that he could see Brad abusing a girl.

"Maybe not necessarily hitting her, but maybe he's doing stuff that hurts her emotionally. It doesn't have to be physical to change her. But, that's not to say I wouldn't dismiss physical abuse altogether." Tony could see the wheels turning in Peter's head, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that a classmate might abuse a significant other. Peter always wanted to see the good in people, even if it was someone he didn't like. Tony had even heard Peter defend Flash, despite continued bullying and name-calling.

"I can't really see Brad hurting MJ. I also can't see MJ staying with him if he did something like that. MJ's way stronger than that. She'd like curse him out or something and then dump him."

"Just because she's witty and sarcastic, and just because she's strong, doesn't mean that she won't be a victim to abuse. Those things aren't exclusive, Pete."

"I still don't think so, Tony." Peter shook his head. No way could he see MJ sticking around with someone who was abusive.

"Then why don't you invite her over for dinner tomorrow night?" Tony suggested. "Maybe she just needs to unwind a little."

"Really? That sounds like a great idea. I'll text her now." Peter tugged his phone from his pocket and typed away. It would be nice to spend time with MJ, even if he had lost her to Brad.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

MJ gulped as she texted Peter that she was on the sidewalk outside the new Stark tower. Everything in her screamed that it was a bad idea, that somehow Brad would know she was here. The bruise on her upper left arm still ached from where he'd grabbed her yesterday afternoon, wrenching her across his bedroom in anger. She winced at the memory of his hand squeezing her as he yelled, demanding to know why she'd been with Peter. Berating her that one of his former football team members had seen her with another guy. It was one of his biggest triggers: having his former teammates think less of him as a stud. He'd suffered enough getting injured. He'd lost the potential for college football scholarships. She knew deep down he was angry at his circumstances, and not at her.

And now she was about to go spend time with Peter. What would he do to her if he found out? If only she had it in her to leave. But what would everyone say? She was supposed to be stronger than this.

And what about the screenshots?

She shivered, unsure if from the cold, or from the thought of the pictures on Brad's phone.

_Coming down now. Be right there_. Peter's reply popped up on her phone as she leaned against the glass door of the building, arms wrapped around her to stay warm. It was colder than normal, even for New York in December.

A few minutes later, Peter opened the adjoining door, greeting her warmly. "Hey, MJ! Dinner should be here in a few minutes. Good timing."

MJ smiled, wishing for the dozenth time that Peter liked her as much as she liked him. But even if he did, there was no way to get away from Brad. Her smile wavered for a moment before she recovered. "Great. Sounds good."

Peter frowned as she walked into the building. He'd seen the way her smile had fallen for a second. Plus normally she would've made some sarcastic remark about the fact that they'd ordered pizza again. But even when he'd texted her to ask what she wanted on her pizza, her answer had been straightforward: _veggie lovers, please_.

They were quiet on the ride up the elevator, both of them trying to think of something to say.

The doors slid open, revealing Tony in an apron.

MJ giggled in surprise, much to Peter's delight. It had been a long time since he'd heard her laugh without restraint.

"What's with the apron, Stark?"

Tony pretended to huff. "What you don't like it? Morgan gave it to me for my birthday!"

She could see then that it was a Darth Vader apron, which made her raise an eyebrow at Peter. "Are you sure it was Morgan?"

Peter cleared his throat. "Um, I might have helped her pick it out."

"Good job, loser." MJ rolled her eyes and wandered into the main living space.

Peter beamed at her back, happy that she was openly teasing him again. "Tony and I made brownies," he said proudly.

"By 'made' do you mean that you paid a chef to come in and whip some up?" MJ's gaze shifted between the two.

"No, we made them ourselves," Peter insisted. "Well, they're from a box, but we did all the mixing and everything."

MJ smirked, feeling more relaxed than she had in a really long time. "Well, Tony can try one later and if he doesn't keel over, then I'll happily eat a couple."

Tony untied the apron. "Ha. Hilarious. I just got a text that the pizza's here. I'm going to run down and get it. Why don't you two pick a movie." He tossed the apron onto the counter and headed towards the elevator. "And don't do anything inappropriate while I'm gone!"

Peter blushed a vibrant shade of red. "She's got a boyfriend, Tony! You know that!"

"Don't care. The order still stands." His voice echoed down the lengthy hallway before they heard the elevator ding to announce its arrival.

MJ shuffled, remembering once more how wrong it was that she was there.

"FRIDAY, pull up the movie database," called Peter. "Anything in mind already?"

"Um, something funny, please." She wasn't in the mood for anything serious. She needed to escape her life, not watch a dramatization of it.

"Got it. FRIDAY, show all movies in comedy." He turned to her, curiosity on his face. "So how come you aren't hanging out with Brad tonight?"

Her breathing hitched for a second at the reminder of Brad's demand that she stay at home while he was out. "His family is having dinner with his grandmother. It's her birthday."

"Oh, gotcha. Well I'm glad. It means we get to hang out. I feel like it's been forever." Peter headed back towards the kitchen. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water's fine, thanks." She looked around the room, taking in the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Garland dangled from the kitchen countertops and from the mantle over the marble fireplace. "Where are Pepper and Morgan?"

"They're having a girl's weekend at a spa a couple of hours from here. It was an early Christmas gift from Pepper's mom."

"Oh, that's nice," MJ said wistfully. Ever since her dad had left, her mom had distanced from her. She knew she hadn't meant to; her mom was just exhausted from working so many jobs and from the grief she still felt following her dad's disappearance. But there were a lot of days that MJ wished she could have something like what she saw between Pepper and Morgan. Morgan was a sweet kid, even if MJ wasn't crazy about little kids. It almost made her wish that she had a younger sister. That maybe she wouldn't be so lonely at home if she had a sibling to hang out with.

"Anything look good?" Peter nodded up at the screen, handing her a glass of ice water.

The large screen was filled with pictures of comedies, but nothing really appealed to her.

"FRIDAY, scroll," she ordered. She'd been around the tower enough to know how to browse with the AI.

The screen shifted, revealing another couple dozen titles. She did it a few more times until she spotted a movie her grandfather had loved, one she hadn't seen in years.

"Oh, what about _Noises Off_?"

Peter studied the look on her face. A wide smile stretched from ear to ear, and her eyes sparkled like he hadn't seen in months.

"Sure. What's it about?" He led her towards the sectional couch and the two picked their favorite spots: Peter almost smack-dab in the center, and MJ in the right corner so that her legs stretched out in front of her on the right end of the couch.

"So it's a movie from the 80's with this huge all-star cast: Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Marilu Henner, Michael Caine… and they're putting on this play, but they start getting into fights because some of them are dating and some are jealous. Like Michael Caine, who's the play's director, is sleeping with both one of the actresses and the stage manager. Eventually all of it sort of boils over and their anger takes over onstage. But despite still sabotaging each other, they remain silent backstage. The physical comedy and comedic timing is absolutely brilliant."

"Sounds really funny." Peter sipped at the soda can in his hand.

"I must warn you though, I do have most of the lines memorized."

"I take it you watch it a lot then? One of your favorites?"

MJ's eyes flicked over to her water. "Y-yeah. It was one of my grandfather's favorites. We'd watch it at least a couple of times a year."

Peter was hit with empathy for his friend. He knew her grandfather had died a few years before, but she rarely talked about him. It was nice to hear about some of her memories. He opened his mouth to ask her more about her grandfather, but the elevator dinged across the floor.

"Alright, kiddos. We've got extra cheese, pepperoni, pepperoni and sausage, meat lovers, and veggie lovers. We've also got parmesan garlic sticks, mozzarella sticks, wings, and boneless wings for those who are sacrilegious and lack decent taste. Come and dig in!"

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The movie ended later than expected, as they'd paused it a half-dozen times for various things. First, Tony had caved at the pain in his shoulder and had gone to the Med Bay to get some pain pills. Then MJ had needed to pee, and though she'd argued with Peter that she'd seen it so many times it didn't matter, he'd had FRIDAY pause it anyway. Then Peter had gotten a call from May who had miscalculated the time difference between Greece and New York.

So by the time MJ pulled her coat on, it was almost eleven pm.

"I'm gonna walk you home," Peter said, grabbing his coat from the rack by the elevator.

"No, no, I'm fine." MJ had glanced at her phone just a minute before to find a dozen texts in the last hour from a very angry Brad. She needed to call him on the walk home and try to placate him. If only she knew what excuse she was going to give him.

"It's almost eleven, Em. You have at least 20 minutes to go between here and your apartment."

"Peter, I'll be fine. Fifteen minutes of that time I'm on the subway."

"Then I'll walk you to the subway. I just don't want you going the whole way yourself." Peter was lying, though. Once they were at the subway station, he was going to insist on joining her. He didn't like her getting all the way back by herself. And they both knew he would be fine traveling by himself on the way back.

She sighed at him but nodded. "Okay. Just to the subway." She waved at Tony, thanking him for the food and company, and the pair stepped into the elevator.

"I've missed this," Peter said quietly.

MJ's heart sank. She'd missed coming over and hanging out too, but Brad was already going to freak out on her for not texting back and confirming that she was at home. She'd figured it would be okay, because he had plans to be out until ten, and she'd assumed she would be home by then. "I've missed it too," she admitted.

"Are you okay, Em? You just…don't seem like yourself anymore." Peter had wanted to ask her all night, and had planned on it after the movie, but the constant pausing had thrown the time off. He didn't want to ask in front of Tony, but with the late ending of the movie, he only had this time now to talk with her.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I'm myself." She tried to breathe deeply and slowly in an attempt to keep her heartrate steady. Peter had told her in the past he could tell when people got nervous, because he could hear their heartrates go up.

But Peter heard her heart thump ever so slightly harder and quicker, and he squinted at her. "Em, really. I just want to make sure you're okay," he pleaded.

"Peter, you're overreacting. I guess I've just grown up a lot. I don't need to be constantly snarky. That's just not who I am anymore." She shrugged. It was as good an excuse as any, she supposed.

The elevator doors slid open, and MJ hurried to leave. Maybe she could convince Peter that she could walk on her own after all. She had no desire to continue this conversation.

But as they stepped outside into the cold, MJ found she had something different to worry about instead.

Brad pulled up in his Mercedes just then, and the hairs stood up on Peter's arms and the back of his neck.

"Fuck," she said under her breath.

Peter's eyebrows knitted together towards his friend. Why would she be cursing at Brad's presence? And why was his Spidey sense going off? He glanced around to see if he could see another danger coming.

"MJ, sweetie," Brad purred, stepping from the car. "Peter, you really didn't have to escort her down. But thanks so much." He turned back to his girlfriend. "Hi, baby, did you have fun?" He leaned over and kissed her passionately, his arm wrapping around her tightly.

Was she trembling or was Peter imaging it? Maybe it _was_ Brad who had set off his sense.

"Yeah, Tony was nice enough to get us all a ton of food."

Us all? Why was she making it sound like there were a lot of people? It had just been the three of them…

"Well, we should probably get going so your mom doesn't worry. Have a good night, Peter." Brad opened the passenger door and then walked around to the driver's side. From inside the car, MJ gave Peter a hesitant smile and waved.

The car skidded away from the curb, leaving a suspicious and worried Peter standing on the sidewalk.

MJ opened her mouth, hoping a decent excuse would come out.

"Why the fuck were you at Parker's?" Brad demanded before she could speak.

"I-I…" MJ's mind reeled. "Wait- how did you know I was there?"

"Oh, sweetie." His voice was no longer the same syrupy sweet tone he'd used in front of Peter. Now it dripped with contempt and sarcasm. "If you honestly think that I can't track you on your phone, you're dumber than I thought."

MJ's heart thudded in her chest and for a moment she mused at whether Peter could hear it even three blocks away.

"I've known you were there since you arrived. But my shrew of a mother took my phone, demanding I pay full attention to that old hag I call a grandmother. Otherwise, I would have texted you a long time ago to tell you to get your ass back at home where you belong. Now answer the question. Why the fuck were you there?"

"W-we just needed to go over some stuff for the decathalon team. He's been helping me a lot this year as co-captain."

"And you didn't do that when you were with him yesterday after school?" Brad argued, taking a turn at high-speed and making the tires squeal.

MJ grabbed at the handle above the window at the force of the turn. "We only did a little of that yesterday. We were working on our Spanish project most of the time yesterday, like I told you before."

"Don't get snappy towards me. You already lied to me yesterday, saying you were with Cindy. Are you fucking him, slut?"

"What? No, of course not. We were there with Tony, and Pepper, and their daughter, Morgan." She wanted him to believe as many people were there as possible. It seemed more innocent with all of Tony's family.

"If you needed to see Parker, you should have asked me first. How would it look if one of the guys from the team saw you leaving Stark Tower? They all know Parker lives there now that his so-called mentor is back from the countryside. Seriously, I don't know what Tony Stark sees in him. Unless Peter has a willingness to go above and beyond, if you get my drift." Brad smirked and wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

"Brad! That's awful to say. Tony would never ask Peter to do anything like that!" MJ yelled at her boyfriend, reacting to his accusations before she considered what she was doing.

"Don't you fucking yell at me, bitch!" Brad reached across the center console and grabbed her roughly around the arm, in almost the exact same spot where her bruise remained from the previous day. He jerked her towards him. "You already fucked up tonight, so I wouldn't talk back if I were you." He shoved her back with enough force that she caught herself against the door handle.

MJ turned to stare out the window, a tear slipping down her cheek.

**~*~MARVEL~*~ **

Peter wandered out of the elevator, lost in thought. He didn't recall MJ texting Brad to say she was leaving. And she hadn't mentioned that Brad was picking her up. So how did he know when to come get her?

Tony had put away the leftovers while he was downstairs and had settled back on the couch.

"Hey, Spiderling, I thought you were walking with her home?"

"Well, I was, but then Brad pulled up in his car." Peter jumped over the back of the couch and landed in his spot.

Tony threw him a look. He hated when Peter leapt over the furniture, even if he was incredibly light on his feet. "Was Brad supposed to pick her up? She didn't mention anything about it, right? Or have these pain pills finally made me lose it?"

"No, you're right. She didn't say anything about it, and she looked really surprised when he showed up. I don't know, maybe he decided to surprise her." It didn't all add up. But he couldn't exactly text MJ and ask if her boyfriend was stalking her. "I don't know what to do, Tony. What do you think?"

"Honestly, Underoos, I'm not sure myself." 

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

MJ held her legs under her favorite blanket which was decorated with chibi versions of the characters from the Japanese anime _Sailor Moon_. It had been hard to turn and look at her back in the mirror, but she knew just from the pain that there were several large bruises from where Brad had shoved her several times the night before into the wall and into his closet door. The doorknob on the door had hurt the worst, created a clear purple mark in the center of her lower back.

The bruises she could almost live with, truthfully. She just wished he'd left it at that. Fresh tears gathered in her eyes at the recollection of the previous night. The way he'd shoved her on the bed and stripped her of her clothes. The names he'd called her as he'd accused her of sleeping around.

She pressed her face into the freshly-washed sheets, inhaling their scent as her tears soaked into the fabric. Brad had already informed her that they were going out that evening with a couple of his former teammates. The thought of hanging out with his boorish friends make her sick to her stomach. She'd grown tired of hearing about his now-defunct football career, how his future had been snatched from him by an opposing team. It was ridiculous that he thought he was going to become something because of his football career. She'd seen his stats from when they were blipped. He'd really sucked, to be honest.

A knock at the apartment door tore her from her thoughts. It was only two. Brad wasn't picking her up until six. Probably someone trying to get her to convert to something or other. It was still too early for Girl Scout cookies.

She turned her head back towards the sheets, burying slightly under her pillow.

But then her phone dinged.

"Ugghh," she groaned. If only people would leave her alone.

Her groan halted as she saw the message was from Peter. _Hey, are you home? _

She brushed at her face, hoping the tear tracks weren't obvious. _Yeah, give me a second, _she texted back, hopping out of bed.

Peter stood at the door with a bright smile, but the smile dissipated as she opened the door and he saw her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

MJ waved him off, "Oh, nothing. Just a really sad movie."

Peter glanced at the television in the living room, which was turned off.

"What's up?" If she noticed his glance, she said nothing.

"Um, I was wondering if we could talk?" It had taken Peter until one in the morning to make up his mind, and even then he'd changed it three more times between when he'd woken up and now. He'd almost turned back and walked away on the climb up her building's stairs. But deep down, he knew he needed to say something. To explain how worried he was.

"Sure. Come on in."

They settled on the couch, Peter attempting to decide how to say it. He'd practiced a dozen times on the trip between home and her apartment, but nothing seemed right.

"What did you want to talk about?" MJ prayed to every deity she could think of that it was totally unrelated to Brad. She didn't need Spider-man looking too closely at her tragedy of a relationship right now.

"Um, well. I know I sort of mentioned it a little last night, but then Brad showed up and… MJ, I'm really worried about you. I-is Brad… does he treat you okay?" His voice was quiet and hesitant.

"O-of course, Peter. Why would you think he doesn't treat me okay?"

He heard her heart thudding harder now. Maybe Tony had been right.

"It's just that ever since the beginning of the school year, you've seemed… different. And I know you said you've grown out of the sarcasm and everything, but… it was just so sudden. And why did Brad come pick you up last night? You didn't mention that he was coming over, and you looked so surprised he was there."

"So you think because I grew up and Brad surprised me by giving me a ride that he's mistreating me?" She needed to make him think he was overreacting. It was the only way.

"W-well I mean—that's not really…" Peter stumbled.

"How dare my boyfriend come pick me up so I don't have to walk, Peter! That's so awful. And how could I possibly change? Did you think that maybe I was only sarcastic because I was lonely before and covering it up? Maybe now I'm not because of Brad." The anger she felt was real, though directed at the wrong person. She tapped into the anger that lurked deep down in her soul. The anger at Brad. The anger at her mom for never being there. It would take every ounce to convince Peter he was wrong.

"I-I guess that makes sense…" Peter hadn't considered that before. Maybe he was just biased towards Brad…

"You need to leave, Peter. Brad is an amazing boyfriend and I'm lucky to have him." How many times had he told her that? _You're lucky I'm with you, bitch. A former football star with the cynical weirdo that everyone hated? I could do so much better. _

Peter stood, disoriented by everything that had just happened. He walked to the door and turned, "I'm sorry, Em. I really am."

And then he was gone, leaving MJ to dissolve back into tears once more.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Christmas came and went, and New Year's plowed towards them. Tony opted to throw a much smaller New Year's Eve party that year, one just for Stark Industries' employees, their friends, and Tony's closest friends. They got Morgan a sitter, but Tony invited Peter, expecting that his mentee would be excited to come to a New Year's party.

But Peter, who always spent New Year's with Ned and MJ, was too depressed to accept the invitation. Ned was snowed in in Minnesota at his grandmother's house, and MJ hadn't spoken to him since he'd gone to her apartment to express his concerns about Brad. He'd insisted that May and Happy go though, promising he would at least drink some sparkling grape juice (his favorite New Year's beverage) and snack on the cheese ball Happy had made.

But now it was eleven fifteen, and he stared at the cheese ball with no appetite.

He wrapped up the snack, tossed it in the fridge, and slipped into his Spider-man suit. Maybe if he couldn't be happy for New Year's, he could at least keep the city safe.

Peter swung towards Queens listlessly. It was only when he was a few blocks from school that he realized he was near Brad's house. Without considering what he was doing, Peter turned down Brad's street and landed on the rooftop across from him. A party was clearly going on at the large home. All of the lights were on, and music and laughter were easily heard from inside.

But underlying the music and the laughter was another sound. One that only someone with enhanced hearing would have picked up.

Peter flicked a wrist and shot a web across the street, landing perfectly on the corner of Brad's home.

"Brad, please. I _swear_ I wasn't flirting with him."

"Everyone saw it, you slut." There was the sound of a slap and a gasp. "You really want to be a slut so badly…get to it."

Peter leapt to the side of the building, crawling from window to window to find them, desperate to intervene. At last, he peered into a window at the back of the house and saw them: Brad shoving MJ to the floor with one hand, as he unbuckled his belt with the other.

With a fluid movement, Peter smashed through the window and landed in Brad's room.

"What the fuck?" Brad reeled back, shocked at the superhero's entrance, though his grip on MJ only tightened.

"Let her go," Peter growled.

"What it's a crime now for a girlfriend to blow her boyfriend? Get the hell out of my house before I call the cops to charge you with breaking and entering and destruction of personal property."

Peter launched himself at Brad who let go of MJ in an attempt to get away. But Peter was faster and hauled the other teen up by the collar. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going back downstairs to the party. She's coming with me. And you will never come near her again. _Ever_."

In spite of their current position, Brad smirked at the hero. "She's my girlfriend. And she's staying here with me. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

Peter turned to look down at MJ, who remained on the floor, her eyes hollow and empty.

"Miss?" Peter prodded.

MJ pleaded with him with her eyes. She couldn't explain in front of Brad. It would be too obvious that she knew Spider-man's identity, that she trusted him with her secret.

"I'm okay. I-I like it r-rough. It's like if I were in a slave Leia costume or something."

Peter's heart fell. He dropped Brad, gave MJ one last glance, and leapt back through the broken window.

It wasn't until he was a few blocks away that he realized what she'd said and recalled a conversation from over a year ago.

_"If I ever dress up as Princess Leia in her Jabba the Hut slave outfit, then it's a cry for help. I wouldn't be caught dead in that." _

A cry for help. _It was a cry for help_. So why did she refuse to go with him? What did Brad have over her?

Peter turned around and swung back toward Brad's. Eventually she would leave the party to go home. Even if her mom worked late, she would never be allowed to stay overnight at her boyfriend's house.

Which meant when she left, he would be there. He would be there to answer her cry.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

MJ shambled out of the house a little before one. Most of Brad's friends had left, so he'd deemed it okay for her to go. It was all about appearances for him. His girlfriend had to stay as late as possible to show everyone how much she loved him. How much she wanted to be with him.

She laughed bitterly. If only they knew.

The night air was brutal, the cold so sharp that it stung her lungs, but it felt good. It felt real.

MJ managed to turn the corner towards the subway before she felt the tears pricking at her eyes. A blur of red and blue interrupted, startling her and sending her leaping to the side, her arms thrown over her face.

"Em, it's just me."

She peeked out from between her arms to find Peter still in his Spider-man suit. "Pe—Spider-man, what are you doing here?"

"Slave Leia. You said before that if you wore it, it was a cry for help." Peter hoped he hadn't misread it.

MJ let out a sob. "You remembered."

"Of course I remembered. Of course." Peter gathered her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

She gasped and shoved him away.

"Em? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" His voice was filled with worry, which made her tear up more.

"I fucked up, Spider-man. I seriously fucked up. And it hurts. I'm so sorry." She tucked herself back into his arms. "Can you take me home?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Um, am I going to hurt you again?" The way she'd pulled away from him scared him. What had Brad done to her?

"I'll be okay." She wrapped her arms around his neck and took a deep breath, waiting for the pain that would come. "Actually, can we go back to the tower? Mom's out with her friends. I'll just text her to let her know I'm staying with Cindy or something."

"Yeah, absolutely. Just tell me if you need me to stop and put you down, okay?" He waited for her to nod and then lifted her up, sorrow and anger flaring through him at the barely noticeable gasp that she let out at the pain.

Peter swung as fast as he could towards the tower, making it there in record time. The two entered the building through the roof entrance, Peter's usual way in after patrolling, and down into the main building. It wasn't until they were in Peter's room that MJ collapsed on the bed, her hands over her face.

He pulled off his mask and tossed it onto his desk. "Em, tell me what happened. Why couldn't you go with me earlier? What's wrong?" He sat next to her on the bed, wanting desperately to pull her into him, but unsure of whether he would hurt her or not.

She sat up slowly and turned to look at Peter, her eyes red and swollen. "He'll share them with everyone. Everyone will see. The cops will see."

Peter was thoroughly confused. "Everyone will see what?"

She flushed at the thought of it. "H-he has screenshots, Peter. I…I'm not proud of this, but we really needed the money last year and we had these pain pills left from Mom's surgery…and…" MJ drifted off.

"You sold them to him." Peter finished.

She looked away from him ashamed. "Yes."

"But if he turns you in, won't he turn himself in too? He bought them after all."

She shook her head sadly. "They're only screenshots of me offering them with the price and a picture of the pill. He said he would tell the cops that he said no. I deleted those messages forever ago. I don't have any evidence against him."

Peter sat, taking in this news. "Em, I could use EDITH to destroy them."

"Y-you could?"

"Yeah, it's easy."

MJ stared at him in awe. "It's…easy." She chuckled at first, and then laughed. "I'm such an idiot. Of course you would have tech to destroy his evidence. Of fucking course."

"MJ, you're not an idiot."

"Yes. Yes, I am. I could've been free months ago. I just…I just was so scared that you would see me differently. I was so scared that you would be ashamed of me." Tears streamed down her cheeks again at the revelation.

"I'd never be ashamed of you, Em. _Never_." Peter placed a hand on her back out of habit but pulled away as she winced. "C-can I see your back?"

MJ swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "It's really bad."

"Then you need medical attention. I can call Dr. Cho. She's on call for us almost 24/7."

She shook her head. "There's nothing she can do for it."

"Can I at least look at it then? Please?" He pleaded. He wanted to make her pain go away, but he didn't know how to start. This was the best thing he could figure.

MJ sighed and turned so her back was to Peter. "Go ahead."

Peter took the hem in either hand and lifted the shirt. Now it was his turn to gasp. Most of her back was covered in bruises of varying sizes and colors. There were layers, as if he had let her heal only to beat her more.

"Oh my god, Em. Why didn't you come to me? I could've stopped him." He let the shirt fall.

She turned back to him and shoved her long sleeves up, revealing bruises shaped like fingers all up and down her arms.

Peter stared, tears forming in his eyes. How had it taken him so long to notice? "How long has he been…?"

"A few months," she said quietly. "It was great at first. July and August? It was great. But once we were back at school and he saw all his old teammates practicing, it was like it hit him that he wasn't going to be back on the team this year. He just got so angry. I tried to break up with him after he started calling me names and yelling at me. But then he showed me the screenshot. Told me I had to stay with him or else. That it was only over if _he_ said it was over."

The image of the two of them, MJ on her knees poised at Brad's crotch, had burned itself into his brain and he couldn't stop himself from asking his next question. "Was tonight the first time he…he made you…?" He drifted off, flushing red at the thought.

MJ sat silently for several moments. "No."

Peter closed his eyes, letting tears that had been forming escape. "Em, what did he make you do? Did he…did he r-rape you?" He opened his eyes to look at her.

Her silence gave him his answer even before she nodded slowly. "O-only once."

"Once is too many, Em."

"It was my fault."

"What? No. No it wasn't."

"It was! He told me to stay in. He _told me_ not to go anywhere and then…" She trailed off, staring at her hands.

"Then…?" Peter pushed her to finish.

"Then you invited me for dinner and I couldn't say no. I should have. I should've said no."

Peter wanted to throw up. The night with the pizza. The night Brad showed up to pick her up out of nowhere. It was _his_ fault. _His fault_ that MJ had been raped. He'd gone back upstairs and watched another movie with Tony while Brad raped MJ. Peter could picture her in his mind, the fear on her face, the protests against him. He shook the image from his mind.

"It's not your fault. It's mine," he said.

"Peter, I should've said no to you. I knew he would be angry if he found out. I just figured I would get home before he would. I didn't know he could track my phone. I didn't know. But I should have. I should've figured that he would know somehow. Please don't blame yourself."

"I'm so sorry, Em. I wish I'd known. I'd never have let you get into the car with him. My Spidey sense went crazy when he got here, but I ignored it. I shouldn't have." He imagined it all over – him stopping MJ from getting into the car, Brad driving away while MJ was safe with him.

"I wouldn't have listened to you, Peter. You and I both know that. I've never been scared of you, so I would've ignored you."

"But you're scared of Brad," he said quietly. "I knew something was wrong. I should've-"

"Peter, _stop_. There's nothing you could have done. Nothing I would've let you do. But you're here now. You tried to stop him tonight, and that means everything to me." MJ reached over and took Peter's hand in her own, threading her fingers through his. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He got lost for a minute, staring into her eyes, her hand in his. But then he remembered. "If you give me his phone number, I can go in and delete everything. And then we need to get ice for your back. Actually, I'd really like it if you let Dr. Cho look you over."

MJ shook her head. "Peter, I-"

"Please, Em. She could do a-a rape kit." Peter stuttered over the words. He never thought he would have to beg his strong friend to get a rape kit done. How had he let it get this bad?

"It was over a week ago, Peter. I don't know if they can even do one so late."

"Can we at least ask her? Please?" He massaged the back of her hand with his thumb to relax her.

With a sigh, she nodded. "Okay."

"Okay. Great. I'll call Tony." Peter pulled his phone from his suit pocket.

"Wait, what? No, no, I don't want Tony knowing." MJ pulled away from Peter and stood, backing up towards the wall.

"I can't call Dr. Cho without his approval. She's on his payroll. Plus I don't have her number," Peter explained.

She hesitated. Peter knowing was one thing, but Tony? What if he told her mom? She had enough on her plate to worry about. "W-will he tell my mom?"

"I don't know, Em. I think it depends on what Dr. Cho finds." Peter frowned at her.

"I don't want her to know," she said, wrapping her arms around herself in a hug. "Please, Peter."

He took in the trembling girl in front of him and nodded. "I'll ask Tony not to say anything." He pushed a couple of buttons on his phone and lifted it to his ear.

"_Hey, Underoos. We're wrapping up the party now. What's up? Everything okay?" _

"Tony, can you call Dr. Cho?"

"_Why? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Karen messaged FRIDAY that you'd gone patrolling. I can be home in five minutes. Are you okay?" _

Peter almost chuckled at the sound of panic in Tony's voice. Ever since he'd woken from his coma he was more obvious in his affections and concern for his mentee.

"I'm okay, Tony. It's…it's MJ. It's not like life threatening or anything, but…can you please call Dr. Cho? We're at the tower." Peter watched MJ who was pretending to study things in Peter's room that he knew she'd seen before.

"_Absolutely. I'll give her a call and meet you at the tower in a couple of minutes. Pepper's got the clean up covered. Go ahead and take MJ to the Med Bay._" With that, he hung up.

Peter tossed his phone onto his bed. "Um, he's calling Dr. Cho now and gonna meet us in the Med Bay in a few. I should probably get changed out of my suit."

MJ was far away as he spoke, wondering how she'd gotten so lucky to have Peter as a friend. If only she were luckier…if only he felt the same way she did.

"Em?" Peter cocked his head.

"Oh, oh, yeah. Sure. I'll just…I'll wait in the hall." She stepped outside to let Peter change in private.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter paced outside the exam room. Tony stood near him, leaning against the hallway wall.

"So you wanna fill me in?"

Peter stopped pacing for a second, before he continued. "It's what we thought. Brad's been hitting her. God, Tony, you should've seen her back. It was like one giant bruise. Oh, that reminds me." He pulled out Tony's sunglasses from a padded pocket in his suit. "EDITH, access the photos for the phone number 5556235. Find any screenshots and isolate them."

"Is there a reason you're hacking into someone's phone, Pete?"

"He's blackmailing her," he said bitterly. "This whole time she stayed because he's blackmailing her." Peter skimmed through the pictures on the glasses. "EDITH, zoom onto the third picture." There it was. The screenshot he held over her. "Locate any screenshots that contain similar text and delete this and any others permanently. Make it so they can never be retrieved." EDITH confirmed the scan and then the screenshots were gone. He thanked the AI and tucked the glasses back into his pocket.

"I'm going to need you to explain more, Spiderling, because otherwise I'm going to question my judgement in letting you have those glasses."

"MJ's mom had surgery at the beginning of the year and was out of work for a few weeks. MJ…well, I guess she was struggling more than I thought. I know she got help from the school to pay for the Europe trip; they have funds sitting around for such things. She ended up selling some of her mom's pain pills." He rushed to defend her before Tony could give him a lecture. "And I know it's wrong, and she knows it's wrong, but Tony, it's so hard watching your parent or guardian struggle to pay the bills. To hear the crying through the walls at night. I don't agree with what she did, but I get it. I do."

"I wasn't going to say anything, Pete." Tony crossed the hall and placed a hand on the pacing teen's shoulder. "I understand."

Peter halted his anxious movement and nodded, "Thanks."

"So this kid had evidence I take it?" Tony stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall closest to Peter.

"Yeah, she sold some to him and he had screenshots of her offering the pills to him. He was going to turn her in to the school and the police." Peter blinked back tears. "Tony, he-he's been beating her and-and a-assaulting her. Like…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Sexually."

Tony was silent for a minute. "I'd sort of suspected as much when you called. How's MJ doing with it?"

The younger man shrugged. "She seems alright, but I don't know. She's always been really good at hiding her feelings."

Dr. Cho came out of the room then and quietly shut the door behind her.

"So the bruising will heal in a couple of weeks. She doesn't have any other sort of internal injury for the most part. I would say some rest, some ice on her back, and some NSAIDS like Ibuprofen for the pain."

"W-what do you mean _for the most part_?" Peter stared wide-eyed at the doctor.

Dr. Cho put a hand on his shoulder. "I think I need to speak with Tony for a minute. But you can go in and see her if you like. She's just sitting with some ice on her back right now."

Peter almost argued, but caught Tony shaking his head slightly. So instead, Peter nodded, and knocked on the exam room door.

"Come in," MJ called quietly.

The room was sterile in its décor. Peter mused at how the roles were suddenly reversed. Most times, he was the one in the bed.

MJ wore the same jeans she'd had on earlier, but instead of her blouse, she had on one of the paper gowns. Peter assumed it was so the ice wouldn't have as many layers of clothing to go through.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Peter closed the door and stood awkwardly a few feet from the bed.

"As well as can be expected, I guess."

"So, um… what did Dr. Cho say?"

MJ's eyes were dull with exhaustion as she looked up at him. Without thinking, he crossed the room to close the gap, and took her hand in both of his.

"The bruising will heal eventually. But, Peter, she wasn't able to do a rape kit."

"What? Why not?"

"It's been like 10 days. She said after five the evidence is usually too convoluted with other… fluids, and stuff."

"Oh." His heart sank. "A-are you going to press charges against him?"

"Peter, I-I don't really want to go through any of that. Do you know the statistics involved with rape charges? I don't really have it in me right now." MJ shook her head and turned away from her friend so he wouldn't see the tears that welled in her eyes.

"But what about the bruises? That would be evidence enough to prove something, right?" Peter insisted.

"No, Peter." She jerked her head back at him angrily. "I said no." Her anger waned almost immediately. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just… so tired."

"I can leave if you want to get some rest." He didn't really want to go. He wanted to stay there with her. Forever, if possible.

"No. Don't go. Please," she pleaded.

Peter traced her hand with his thumb. "I won't go anywhere. I'll stay right here until Dr. Cho clears you. And then I'll go anywhere else you want me to go."

"She said I can leave whenever, as long as I keep icing my back on and off."

"Do you…do you want to go upstairs? You can sleep in the guest bed on our floor if you want."

MJ really wanted to stay with Peter, but a guest room was better than an exam room. "Sure. I just need to get dressed."

Peter moved to leave, but hesitated. "Um, MJ?"

"Hmm?"

"Dr. Cho said that there were no internal injuries…_for the most part_. But she wouldn't explain." His tone was worrisome and curious.

"Peter, I don't- I don't really want to talk about it right now, okay?"

He wilted a little, mad at himself that he had upset her, but also sad that she didn't want to talk to him. "Sure. I get it. I'll be outside when you're ready."

He left the room and MJ struggled to get up, all the while hoping that the expression on Peter's face didn't mean that she'd angered him.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter loaned MJ a pair of boxers and a tee shirt so she could change into something more comfortable, and the two sat on his bed, the television on as they both pretended to watch.

Neither felt like sleeping just then, so they'd opted to stay up for a little while longer.

MJ was beginning to nod off though, and while she knew she needed to get up and go next door to the guest room, she really wanted to stay with Peter. He made her feel safe, and she knew she would need that to sleep.

The boy sensed the change in her breathing, knew she was dozing next to him. He knew he should wake her so she could go next door, but with her next to him it made him feel like he was making up for not saving her before. For not noticing all those months.

He sighed. It wasn't fair to her if he let her fall asleep there. She needed her own space.

"MJ…" He whispered, gently tapping at her shoulder.

Her eyes remained closed, her breathing still steady.

"MJ," he said louder, shaking her a little harder.

Her eyes snapped open and she pushed at him, fruitlessly given his strength. "Stop! I'm sorry!"

"Em, it's me. It's Peter. You're okay. You're safe." He held his hands up while she struggled to remember where she was.

"Peter?"

"Yeah, it's me. You're in my room."

MJ let out a ragged breath.

"You were falling asleep. I thought maybe you'd want to go to your room and go to bed." Peter slowly dropped his arms back to his sides.

"A-actually. Could I… could I stay here tonight?"

"Like, in my room? Does it feel more familiar for you? I'm happy to take the guest bed," Peter offered. He just wanted her comfortable.

Despite how she felt, she rolled her eyes. "I mean, _with_ you. Here."

"Oh." His heart sped up. Though he knew this didn't necessarily mean she had feelings for him, and he would be the perfect gentleman, because he didn't want to hurt her or scare her, it made him happy and excited that she wanted to be around him. "Yeah, that's fine. Um, I'm gonna get changed for bed then."

Recently Peter wore boxers to bed with nothing else, but he knew it wasn't right for him to do that tonight. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a fresh tee shirt from his dresser and vanished into the bathroom.

MJ pulled down the comforter and sheets and climbed in.

"You know," Peter said as he exited the bathroom. "Now I'm really glad that Tony bought me new furniture when we moved here. Otherwise, I'd still have my bunk bed and not a queen size bed. It would be way less comfortable."

MJ chuckled. "This is true. Remind me to thank Tony tomorrow."

"Will do." Peter climbed into bed, making sure to leave at least a foot of space between the two of them. "FRIDAY, lights off." The room lights dimmed slowly to nothing, the light of the television screen flashing blue through the room.

MJ hugged the pillow, trying to close her eyes and doze once more, but each time now she was back in Brad's bedroom, his hands shoving her head towards him to take him into her mouth. "Peter?"

"Hmm?"

"Will… will you hold me?"

Peter's heartrate spiked once more. "Um, yeah. Is that going to hurt your back? I don't want to hurt you, MJ."

"Just don't press too tightly. I'll be alright."

"Okay. Then, sure." He scooted towards her and held out his left arm. She lifted herself up and settled onto his chest. His arm wrapped around her gently, sparking her to sigh with contentment.

They laid like that quietly, the television still playing in the background.

Without knowing why, MJ suddenly spoke. "The internal injury… it was a tear."

"A tear?"

"In the vaginal tissue. He was-" She cleared her throat as her voice cracked. "He was too rough."

Peter's breath caught in his throat. He had a sudden urge to pull Brad from his bed and toss him out his second story window. "I could dress up in a non-Spider-man mask… he'd never know it was me."

"Peter, no." MJ did have to admit to herself she was surprised Peter had offered to just beat up their classmate using his Spider-man strength.

"He shouldn't have hurt you. He shouldn't have even touched you." Peter was seething now, his right fist clenched.

"I know. But that doesn't mean you should use your powers like that." MJ could feel him trembling with anger underneath her.

Peter unclenched his fist. He knew she was right. "D-does it hurt?"

MJ focused on Peter's heartbeat to help guide her breathing. "A little. Not as much as it did."

He wasn't sure why he asked, but a part of him needed to know. "Was it…your first time?"

She was silent longer than he would have liked.

"No," she admitted. Anyone else would have struggled to hear her, her voice just a breath below a whisper. But he heard her perfectly.

"Oh." Peter was torn. Part of him was glad she hadn't lost her virginity that way. But another part of him was jealous, because it meant she'd had sex with Brad willingly.

"We'd only had sex a couple other times. The first time was before school started, back when things were still good. But then… I didn't really want to anymore. Not after school started and after he started being a jerk." MJ kept rambling, a little uncertain as to why she was telling Peter all of this. He didn't want to know. "I'm sorry. You don't want to hear this."

"It's okay, Em. If it will help you. I don't mind." He lifted his right hand and carded his fingers through her hair.

She let out a sigh at the feel. It had been so long since Brad had touched her lovingly like that.

"The second time was in October. I'd been pushing him away and well, as long as… as long as he got what he wanted, he was fine without sex."

Peter almost flinched when he realized what she meant, but he kept running his fingers through her hair. She needed him and he had to stay focused on her.

"He'd been whining about it. Getting angrier and angrier that whenever we started doing something, I would beg out. He just wore me down, I guess. I just needed him to shut up about it for a while. To placate him."

"Em, that's still rape," he said. He untangled his fingers from his hair and placed his hand on her arm. "If you didn't want it, it's rape. He coerced you into it."

She shrugged and suddenly he realized his chest was wet. She was crying, the tears soaking into his shirt.

"I wish I'd been there for you," his voice cracked. "I wish I'd done something."

She cried harder now, the tears overlapping as they slid down her cheeks and onto his shirt.

"I'm sorry. You deserve so much better." He stroked her arm lightly as she sobbed against him.

She sobbed until her head swam and slowly she cried herself to sleep.

Peter remained wide awake, still holding her, his shirt drenched in tears and stuck to his chest.

She deserved someone who would do anything for her. She deserved Peter. But did Peter deserve her?

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Tony knocked on Peter's door the next morning a little after ten. He figured neither teen had gone to sleep before at least four, but he couldn't wait too late to talk with him. FRIDAY had already informed him that MJ had slept in Peter's room with Peter.

Peter appeared at the door, bleary eyed in his sweats and tee shirt.

"Hey, what's up?"

"How's MJ?"

Peter slipped out of the room and closed the door. "I mean, not great, but not terrible, I guess. Why?"

"I spoke with her mom this morning."

"What?" Peter was suddenly wide awake. "Why would you do that?"

"Her mom called here. She tried to reach MJ at Cindy's, and once they realized she wasn't there, she tried MJ, but didn't get a response. So then she tried Ned. Ned suggested she try here. Your friend is an idiot, by the way. He gave her the main line and not your cell phone number."

"Sorry." He made a mental note to talk with Ned later. He knew his friend would be chomping at the bit to find out what had happened with MJ. "I think MJ's phone died."

"It's okay. It actually worked out for the best."

"What did you tell her mom?" Peter tried to cross his arms casually but failed and wound up shifting between his feet nervously.

"I had to tell her the truth, Pete. It wouldn't be right to lie to her."

"How is that working out for the best?" Peter almost yelled but lowered his voice at the last second so he wouldn't wake MJ.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have mattered. MJ pulled the door open behind him.

"So she knows?" Her voice trembled.

"It's okay, MJ. She's just glad you're safe. And she's grateful that you know Spider-man through Peter's internship and friendship with me." He smirked a little at the two. "And that Spider-man knew to bring you back here to Peter for medical attention."

MJ and Peter smiled at each other before turning serious again.

"So what else did she say?" Peter asked.

"I've convinced her to let you stay here for a couple of days under the careful eye of Dr. Cho. It also helped that I promised that I would have my personal therapist meet with you everyday for the next few days. But she does want to see you, MJ. She's going to be here in the next hour. She's just scared that you're hurt."

MJ nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, and…" Tony hesitated. "She wants you to see Dr. Cho again today and discuss getting tested for STIs."

MJ flushed red.

"But that shouldn't be an issue though, right, MJ?" Peter asked. "I mean, as long as Brad used…" He floundered as he realized she wasn't protesting. "MJ?"

She spoke to the floor, feeling sicker than she had in the last 24 hours. "He didn't last time. And I'm pretty sure he's been sleeping around, too."

Peter saw red, and he looked to Tony for help, anger and fear coursing through him. Another thought entered his mind and he stepped closer to MJ, his hands on her arms as he whispered.

"MJ, could you be—pregnant?"

She shook her head. "No, I have an IUD. That I'm not worried about."

He sighed in relief and dropped his hands from her arms.

She missed the warmth of his hands as soon as they dropped but didn't want to say anything in front of Tony. Or, at all, really.

Tony cleared his throat. "Your mom is going to bring over some clothes and a couple of other things you might need. I'll have FRIDAY let you know when she's here." He nodded at Peter and walked back towards the elevator.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

There were a lot of things that MJ didn't like to do. She'd hated getting up during Drama I, the only elective she had room for in her schedule freshman year. She despised making small talk with adults. And she couldn't stand watching viral videos that were only funny because of someone else's humiliation. But the prospect of sitting in front of her mother knowing that she knew what Brad had done was suddenly at the top of the list of things she never wanted to do.

Her mom had enveloped her in a tight hug as soon as she exited the elevator, loosening her grip once she realized the pain her daughter was in.

Peter had shown the two to the guest room so they could have some privacy, and though a part of MJ wanted him to stay, she knew she needed to speak with her mother alone.

"Sweetie, why didn't you say something? Anything?" Her mom was already crying, and MJ guessed it was not for the first time that day.

"Um, so you remember those pain pills that I said expired?" Her voice was so small. She didn't recognize herself anymore.

Her mom looked confused. "Yes?"

"Well, they didn't expire. I sold them. To Brad." She hurried to finish as the expression on her mom's face turned to anger. "We needed the money, Mom. I was tired of not being able to help and I knew Brad would want them. The football players always did stuff during the off season. But… he used it against me. I couldn't leave."

Her mom took a deep breath. "So what's stopping him now?"

"Tony sort of hacked into his phone and deleted the evidence." She said sheepishly. She didn't mention it was actually Peter who had done the hacking. It seemed a little less plausible that he would have that sort of tech.

"That was very generous of Mr. Stark. I need to remember to thank him for keeping my daughter from having a criminal record." Her voice was sharp but grew soft at the miserable expression on her daughter's face. "MJ, we'll get by. I don't want you to worry about money. I want you to be a normal teen and focus on your studies and on having fun."

MJ nodded, knowing it was better not to argue with her mother just then.

The two were quiet, each trying to decide where to go from there.

"Is it over for good?"

"Yes. I texted him this morning. He threatened me at first with the screenshot, but when I asked him to show me the proof, he got mad because he couldn't find the pictures. Demanded to know what I'd done with them."

"I'll go to the school first thing after winter break and demand they remove him from any of your classes."

"Mom, no. That'll just make things worse."

"This is non-negotiable. And I really want you to reconsider pressing charges. I know you don't want to relive it, and I know you don't want people knowing, but it's important. He needs to know it won't go unquestioned. Even if he doesn't get jailtime, maybe we can get him kicked out of Midtown. Something needs to happen."

"We can't afford a lawyer, Mom," MJ insisted, playing with a thread on the hem of Peter's shirt.

"Mr. Stark has already offered us his lawyer free of charge. He said it was the least he could do for one of Peter's best friends."

MJ felt a flood of love for Mr. Stark. She wasn't entirely surprised. He'd been nothing but kind since the blip. "That's really nice of him," she mumbled.

"Which is exactly why we're going through with it." She reached over and placed a hand on MJ's cheek. "You're strong enough to do this, MJ. I know you are."

A tear slid down MJ's cheekbone and over her mom's hand.

"I love you, and nothing will change that." Her mom pulled her into another hug, this one looser than when she'd first arrived.

"I love you too, Mom."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The next few nights were hard, nightmares waking MJ every few hours. But Peter woke each time, still sleeping in the same bed with her at MJ's request. He held her and let her cry or talk or simply curl up next to him while he stroked her hair.

Both teens knew their feelings were growing for the other, but Peter knew MJ needed to heal before he could complicate things, and MJ figured he would never have any interest in dating someone who had allowed herself to be abused like she had.

Tony's lawyer had started the proceedings and was prepared to go with Mrs. Jones to the school that next day to speak with the principal.

It would be the first day back after winter break, and MJ was terrified. How long until it got out? She was sure Brad had already started spreading rumors about her to explain their break-up. Cindy had texted her a couple of days before asking questions, but MJ hadn't responded. She didn't want to deal with all of that right now. Not yet.

Suddenly she was thankful that she and Peter had most of their classes together. His presence would help her feel safer, even knowing that Brad would be leering at her every day until either Midtown kicked him out, or she gave up and dropped out. She hadn't mentioned that possibility to anyone yet, knowing it would get shot down immediately.

She and Peter laid in bed, the television playing in the background just like MJ liked. It helped keep her mind distracted.

"Peter?"

"Yeah, Em?"

She was resting on his chest as usual, their new norm.

"I'm scared."

He craned his head to look at her. "I know. But I'll be there. And Ned knows too, so you know, that's something. At least he's in history with you. The only class you don't have with us is art. And at least Brad isn't in there with you."

"Yeah, but a couple of his friends and his friends' girlfriends are. I don't want everyone knowing. What will they think?"

"They'll think that Brad is an abusive asshole who needs to be behind bars," Peter huffed.

MJ was quiet for a second before she giggled. "I don't think I've ever heard you so angry before, Peter."

"Well, I just… I really care about you, Em. I'm really angry he hurt you."

Her heart leapt into her throat for a second, but she tamped her feelings down. He just meant he cared for her as a friend. He couldn't mean anything else.

"Thanks, Peter." She flattened her hand against his chest, settling it between his pecks.

He struggled for air for a second at the feel of her hand. Normally she let her hand fall to his other side, her arm crossed entirely over him, or her arm remained at her side, her hand on her own thigh.

"S-sure. Anything you need."

The two fell into fitful sleep, both dreading what the next day would bring.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

MJ eyed the hallway warily. It was lunchtime, and so far she hadn't seen Brad. She knew her mom and Tony's lawyer had been in first thing, but the principal had remained adamant that they needed to investigate before they could assign any sort of punishment or take the matter to the Honor Board. While they had the pictures Dr. Cho had taken of MJ's bruises, they insisted it did not mean Brad had done it. The lawyer had then produced the text messages from Brad which showed his possessiveness, his demands that she was at home, the curses and slurs he'd thrown at her.

But MJ knew Brad's father was powerful and the school was just as scared of him as they were of Tony's lawyer. While she'd secretly hoped they would move to begin the expulsion process immediately, she'd known it wouldn't happen. Tony's lawyer had told her as much.

Peter was supposed to meet her in the library so they could eat away from prying eyes in the cafeteria. She sat in their meeting spot, the table in the far back. Peter's class was on the other side of the building, so she pulled out her sandwich knowing he would be a little late.

"I knew you'd be here."

She froze, sandwich clasped in her hands.

"Do you know the trouble you've caused me? My father is furious. He's going on and on about how expensive it will be to get our lawyer on this. I'm not going _anywhere_, bitch."

MJ leaned down to her phone surreptitiously and whispered, "Karen, record audio." Tony had connected the AI to the new Stark phone he'd given her over the break. Now she knew why.

"Brad, I don't want to see you. You beat me, you _raped_ me. I don't want anything to do with you. Just leave." She tried to keep her voice steady, but knew she was failing.

"You deserved it, you slut." He closed the gap between them and hovered by her chair, leaning over her. "All of those beatings and you learned nothing. You were supposed to stay with me. _I _got to decide when it was over. Not you. And now because Tony Stark has let you stay with him you, now that he's provided you with an attorney, think you can do what you want?"

Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh, yeah, I know that you've been staying there. How long have you been sleeping with Peter, you little whore? Are you fucking Stark too? Maybe I made the wrong move. Maybe I should've been charging my friends to fuck you. I could've made bank." He stroked her cheek, making her flinch away at the touch. "I miss the sight of you, my hand in your hair as you suck me dry. It was so much better when you protested. So much _hotter_."

MJ wanted to throw up, but knew she needed to draw it out.

"I never wanted to blow you. _Ever_. Just like I didn't want to have sex that night."

"Oh, Em."

Anger flared in her. He wasn't allowed to call her Em. That was only for Peter.

"I know you didn't want to have sex. But it was what you needed. You needed punishment. You needed to see that I make the rules. And it worked, didn't it? Just like how it worked every time I left marks on you. The more control I had over you, the better you behaved, _whore_."

"Get away from her, Brad."

Brad wheeled around to find Peter seething behind him.

"Parker. Good to see you." He smiled arrogantly. "I see you've taken my spot as MJ's fuck buddy. An interesting choice on her part. And well, truthfully, on your part too."

"You need to leave. Now." Peter was firm but trying to remain calm. He couldn't afford to be suspended for beating up Brad. Plus it wouldn't help if Brad's father filed charges against him.

"Don't worry, Parker. I was just leaving." He smirked and strolled away.

It wasn't until the door sealed shut behind him that Peter swept over to MJ with concern.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? I'm so sorry I was so late."

"Karen, end recording." MJ gasped, unaware she'd been holding her breath. "I got it, Peter. I got the proof."

"What? With Karen? Really?" Peter felt his hopes rise for the first time in days.

"I just prodded him a little and he confessed to all of it. The abuse, the rape. It's recorded on Karen's database." Tears sparkled in her eyes, but these were tears of relief.

"I'll text Tony now. Maybe he can get his lawyer back up here before school ends." Peter yanked his phone out of his pocket, furiously typing to Tony to check Karen's recordings. He hit send and peered down at the relieved girl in front of him.

"How much did you hear?"

"I walked in around when he asked if you were sleeping with Tony and me now and the thing about charging his friends and…and sucking. I could hear it across the library, of course, and I wanted to run over here, but the librarian was glaring at me. I didn't want to alert her to anything and get the both of us in trouble. I'm sorry I wasn't faster."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I needed him to say more for the recording. I'm just sorry you heard him say that stuff."

"Don't be. He's the one who should be ashamed at treating you like that." He couldn't imagine talking to a girl like that, especially not one he was dating. The idea of Brad passing MJ around to his friends made him sick to his stomach.

"It wasn't the first time he's suggested allowing his friends to share me," she admitted.

Peter had no words for the shock that passed through him. "B-but he didn't, right?"

"No, he didn't." She grew even quieter, almost whispering. "He almost did, once. A guy who graduated a couple of years ago came to one of Brad's parties over Thanksgiving. He made all these comments about my body and Brad yanked me aside and said the guy was interested and if I wanted everything to stay quiet, I would do whatever he asked, because the guy might have some pull with his college. Apparently he was a quarterback for some college Brad wanted to go to."

Peter waited, heart racing, as she paused. "What happened?"

"The guy got really drunk and passed out. I don't want to consider what would have happened if he'd stayed somewhat sober."

He didn't want to consider it either, his stomach churning at her story.

"But it's over now. It's done." She smiled up at him. MJ stood from her chair and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"For what?" He hugged her back, confused, but happy.

"For being you."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Spring Break was upon them, the air still chilly but slowly giving way to hints of the warmth that spring and summer would bring.

Brad had been expelled shortly after Tony's lawyers had presented the Honor Board with the recording. Brad's lawyer had talked him into pleading guilty to the charges MJ and her mother pressed against him, which meant he got off relatively easy, especially because he was only 17. Peter was annoyed at his lack of meaningful punishment, but MJ didn't care. She had a restraining order against him, and her freedom back. Eventually her classmates had stopped talking about it, and a few other girls had come to secretly thank her, all of them suffering in some sort of abusive situation of their own. She'd given them the courage to gather evidence, and speak out, and two other members of the football team had been expelled as well. Midtown had adopted new curriculum in their health classes addressing domestic and sexual abuse. MJ had opted out. It was still too fresh.

Tony was taking his family, plus May, Happy, and Peter to Hawaii for Spring Break, and Peter had managed to talk him into letting MJ come too. Ned was visiting relatives out of state again, much to his annoyance, so Peter didn't feel too guilty. Honestly, it hadn't taken long to talk Tony into it. It was less of "talk him into it" as it was "ask him briefly."

No one even batted an eyelash when they realized that Peter and MJ had chosen rooms that were right next to each other in the cottage Tony had rented.

The cottage had its own private beach, outdoor pool and hot tub, and even a small theater. MJ wandered through, slack-jawed at the size of it.

"I thought you said it was a _cottage_," she asked Peter.

He shrugged. "That's what Tony called it. But I mean, it's got five bedrooms, so we probably should've guessed. Also, it's Tony."

She nodded. "Fair."

They'd only just settled in when Peter asked MJ if she wanted to go for a hike. "There's supposed to be some great trails nearby. You interested?"

"Sure. I'll go get my shoes."

Peter paced anxiously. It had been three months since she'd broken up with Brad. Two and a half months since his expulsion. MJ still slept over at the tower on weekend movie nights. Her mom never complained, because she loved both Tony and Peter since their help with Brad. Though her mom didn't really know that she slept in Peter's room. She didn't have to tell her _everything. _Somehow Tony just kept forgetting to mention it to her on the few occasions they spoke, and May spent much of her time in Happy's room on the floor below. While MJ still had the occasional nightmare, waking in Peter's arms to his soothing touches, she was back to her normal self, teasing Peter. But now the teasing was a bit more flirtatious.

He'd confided in Tony the week before that he really liked MJ.

_"No, you? You like MJ? Really? I never would have guessed!"_

_ "Ha. Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Tony."_

_ "Look, kiddo, in all seriousness, she likes you too."_

_ "A-are you sure? It's so hard to tell with her…" He'd whirled around in the lab chair to look at his mentor with worry. _

_ "She's always looking at you, Pete. With these happy, glossy-eyed stares. Yes, she likes you. And I get it; you're worried it's too soon. So take it slow. There's nothing that says you have to tell her you like her and then hop right into bed with her. Well, you already spend half your time with her in bed, but you know what I mean." _

_ Peter had blushed furiously at the thought of MJ in her bed doing something other than talking or sleeping. "So you think I should tell her in Hawaii?"_

_ "As long as you two keep it PG, I think it's a good idea." _

_ Peter's face had only begun to return to its normal color before he blushed again. "Tony!" _

_ "What? You're 17. It's going to happen." _

_ His mentee was quiet again, and Tony had the feeling a different set of questions was coming. _

_ "Hey, Tony?" _

_ "Hey, Peter."_

_ "H-how do I know when… when she wants to… you know?"_

_ "When she wants to what? Go eat dinner? Take over the world? Become a super villain?"_

_ "Please don't make me say it."_

_ "Kid, if you can't say it, you're not ready for it."_

_ He gulped. "How do I know when she wants to have sex?"_

_ "You're a smart kid, Pete. And MJ is a strong young woman. You need to be able to talk about it. If you can't talk about expectations and what she wants and what you want, then you aren't ready. I imagine she'll tell you."_

_ "But…what do I do?"_

_ Tony narrowed his eyes at him. "I swear, Underoos, if you tell me you don't know how sex works, I'm going to have a word with those health teachers at your school."_

_ "NO! No, that's not…ugh, Tony. I just mean like, how do I make her comfortable? What if she flashes back to Brad? I don't want to hurt her. Or scare her." _

_ He never failed to amaze Tony. How had this caring kid come to see _him_ as a mentor? "The fact that you're worried about that tells me you're going to be fine. Just talk to her. Ask her what she likes, what she doesn't like. And above all, no matter what you're doing, or how close you are, if she seems hesitant or tells you to stop, you stop." _

_ Peter considered Tony's words. "I can do that." _

_ "You're sure? Because in the moment, it's hard to stop. It feels too damn good. It's much easier to just keep going." _

_ Peter stared in horror at Tony. "How could you say that? It doesn't matter if it feels good to me! This is about her! I could never hurt her for my pleasure!" He yelled, outraged. _

_ Tony smiled at him and Peter realized what he was doing. _

_ "That was a test, wasn't it?" _

_ A nod and a wider smile. "You passed, kid. You'll be fine." _

Peter had planned on telling MJ on the last day in Hawaii. That way at least, if she rejected him, she could still enjoy her vacation. But now that they were there, he couldn't wait. He felt like he was going to throw up, or explode, or throw up and then explode.

MJ came out of her room, a smile on her face. She'd been so happy in the last couple of months. She felt so safe and relaxed around Peter. The only hard part was ignoring her feelings for him, but she knew she could live with just being friends.

"Alright, let's do this." She practically skipped out the door, Peter trailing behind nervously.

They wandered down the beach until they came to the entrance of a trail, cloaked with trees on a rocky hillside. They climbed in comfortable silence for a while before Peter saw the perfect spot. It was a clearing overlooking the ocean with several large rocks on the edge of a cliff perfect for them to relax on.

"Hey, wanna take a break?"

"Spider-man is tired?" She smirked.

"No, I just… the view is pretty. I want to enjoy it."

Her smirk turned to a smile. "Okay. Sure."

Peter settled on top of one of the rocks, his legs dangling over the cliffside. MJ eyed the cliff and scooted towards the edge of the same rock, though she left her legs curled up under her a good foot from the side.

"Scared of how high it is?"

"I hate heights."

"Really? But I swung you back to the tower from B- over New Year's."

"Yes, and I hated every second of it. I just really wanted to get away from Brad, and I trusted you."

Peter smiled at her confession. "I'm glad."

She nodded, and peered out towards the water, enjoying the smell of the ocean air.

"Hey, Em? Could we… talk?"

"We weren't talking before?" She teased.

"I mean… like… _talk_."

Her heart thudded. He didn't want to be friends with her anymore. She was annoying, just like Brad used to tell her. Why would he do this to her now? Why at the beginning of the trip?

"Um, okay. What did you want to talk about?" Maybe it wasn't what she thought. Maybe it was something else.

"Well, um, the last couple of months have been really awesome. Like, us hanging out and getting really close."

Her stomach dropped as she waited for the _but_.

Peter worked to get up his nerve.

"I just… well, I really like being friends with you…but I…um…"

"But you don't want to be friends anymore," she finished.

"Yeah." Did she feel the same? Is that how she knew what he was going to say?

"Oh. Okay. Well, um, I guess I should go back to the cottage…" MJ moved to stand.

Peter gaped. "Wait, what? Where are you going?"

"If you don't want to be friends anymore, Peter, I should probably see about going home," MJ replied, feeling a little annoyed despite her sadness.

"What? Oh. No, MJ, I don't mean… I mean I want to be _more_ than friends."

"_More_ than friends?" She repeated.

"I like you, Em. Like… a lot."

MJ stared out at the waves, digesting what he was saying. "Peter, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. But…if you don't feel the same then it's fine. We can pretend this never happened."

"That's not… that's not what I mean." She grew quiet. "How can you like me?"

Peter reached over and put his hand on hers. "How can I not like you? You're funny and smart and gorgeous."

"But…after everything with Brad…"

"Screw Brad. I don't care what he did or didn't do," he reassured her.

"But Peter, _I _let him do all of those things to me. I just stayed with him and let it happen." She couldn't look at him, couldn't look at his kind eyes, the warmth that radiated from them.

"You didn't _let_ him do anything, Em. Please don't believe that," he pleaded. He lifted his right hand and placed his palm on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "You're _amazing_, MJ. I want to be with you more than anyone I've ever met."

She turned now to face him, his hand still stroking her. "I like you too, Peter."

His hesitant expression vanished, replaced by a deep smile and relief and happiness in his eyes. "C-can I kiss you?"

MJ grinned. "I would be offended if you didn't."

With his hand still pressed against her cheek, he leaned into her, closing the gap between them as he lightly pressed his lips to hers.

MJ's heart skipped as their lips met, the gentleness of the kiss overwhelming her. She'd never been kissed like this before, and it left her breathless. After a moment, she deepened the kiss and lifted her hand to wrap around the back of his neck and pull him into her.

They stayed like that for a minute, kissing and holding each other, before they finally parted, out of breath.

It was another half an hour before either suggested they go back to the cottage.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The week in Hawaii flew by as they both opted to keep it to themselves that they were a couple. They knew Pepper and May would get irate if they discovered that MJ snuck into Peter's bed each night even as friends, let alone as a couple. It wasn't until they got on the airplane that they fessed up to their new relationship status.

School continued on as normal. No one seemed surprised by the change in their relationship, much to their shock. Apparently everyone else had known for months that they'd liked each other.

They took things slowly, as Tony had suggested, only going as far as second base by their three-month anniversary. On their anniversary, MJ suggested they try to go further, but wound up sobbing after she pushed herself too far and attempted to give Peter oral, wanting nothing but to please him. Peter had scooped her into his arms and held her, reassuring her that he didn't care what they did or didn't do, because he cared for her and that's what mattered.

But by August, they'd moved beyond that, stopping only before sex. As they neared Peter's 18th birthday, MJ had made up her mind. She knew what she wanted to do.

A couple of days before Peter's birthday, MJ sat with him in his room, contemplating how to broach the subject.

She had rehearsed in her head a dozen ways to tell him what she was thinking, but despite that, she panicked and blurted out, "I want to have sex."

Peter, who had been going on about the latest upgrades to his Iron Spider suit, stopped mid-word.

"L-like right now?" He looked distraught. Did he have condoms? Were there some in the Med Bay? Oh god, would Tony kill him if he caught him getting condoms from the Med Bay?

"No, not right now. I mean, for your birthday."

Peter let her words sink in. "In two days?"

She nodded, biting her lip nervously. "Yeah."

The thought of having sex with MJ was already turning Peter on, but he struggled to shove those feelings back. "MJ, if you just want to because it's my birthday, I don't mind just having like a new Star Wars collectible or something."

She rolled her eyes. "Loser."

He smirked back. He'd missed the old MJ.

"But I want to. Like it's a bonus it would be in time for your birthday. I'm ready. I want to do this with you."

Peter gulped. "O-okay. Alright. Um, I guess I should buy some condoms then."

"Have you been tested?"

There were moments though that he didn't miss her bluntness.

"Um, yeah. Tony made me get tested when we started dating. Though I don't really know why." He rolled his eyes.

"Then we don't need the condom. I still have the IUD. And I know I'm good, because of all the tests I did after Brad."

The thought of not using a condom scared Peter a little. "Are you sure the IUD will be enough?"

She nodded. "It'll be enough."

He let out a deep breath. "Alright. Um, well, where did you want to…?"

"I figured here? I mean, May is usually with Happy, and we'll have the floor to ourselves. I think everyone sort of assumes we're already having sex anyway."

"W-what? Why-why would they think that?"

MJ gave him a look. "Really? I spend the night here like three or four times a week, and we're already practically having sex. I honestly think May stays with Happy as much as she does, because she doesn't want to know for sure."

Peter struggled to wrap his brain around this information.

"So, do you want to?"

"Yeah. Yeah, definitely." Peter realized how quickly and loudly he'd responded after MJ smirked at him again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I'm desperate or anything."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're as into the idea as I am."

"So that night then?" He asked, somehow sounding both excited and terrified simultaneously.

"Yeah. That night." She fidgeted on the bed.

"Great."

"Yeah. Great."

The two smiled nervously at each other before distracting themselves with other things. MJ stared back at her book, and Peter stared at the plans for the new Iron Spider upgrades. But neither of them took in a single word they read.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The pair spent all day shooting each other nervous, but excited glances. Tony was pretty certain no one else noticed, but he definitely did.

Shortly before Peter's birthday dinner, Tony pulled him aside.

"Alright kid, spill it."

"Sp-spill what?"

"Why you and MJ keep staring at each other like one of you is going to implode."

"I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're a shit liar, you know that right?"

Peter glanced around them, pulled Tony into the elevator, and hit the close door button.

"Is there a reason we're in the elevator not going anywhere?"

"MJ's ready."

Tony stared at him blankly for a second.

"Like… _ready_. We're gonna… tonight."

"Oh." Tony leaned back against the handrail. "And all this time I figured you two were already doing it."

Peter turned red. "Why does everyone think that?"

"Well, you two do share a bed half the time."

"B-but that's… that doesn't mean…" Peter fumbled.

"Kid, relax. The fact that everyone thinks that and no one has said anything means we're okay with it, because we know you two are responsible. I'm not gonna lie. I'm kind of surprised you haven't yet."

"She wasn't ready," Peter protested.

Tony smiled at him. "You're a good man, Pete."

A good _man_. Peter grinned. Tony had never called him a man before.

Tony reached for the open door button, but Peter grabbed his arm. "Wait."

"What?"

"Um… should I like… how do I…" He groaned in frustration. "Do we just like… _go for it_?"

Tony smirked. "Foreplay, my man. Foreplay. Just do what you two normally do. Let it happen naturally. And don't stress too much."

"Easy for you to say," he muttered.

"Pete, the first time I had sex I lasted about thirty seconds."

"Really?" His mentor, his almost-father? The former player?

"Yeah, really. And it meant nothing because I barely knew her. But you have something real. Enjoy it."

Peter felt like a weight had been lifted. "Yeah. I do have something real."

Tony clapped him on the back. "Now, let's go get some food so you two can get on with your fun." He winked at the blush that filled Peter's face once more and opened the elevator doors.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter lit a couple of candles on either side of his bed. He wondered briefly if MJ would think they were cheesy.

She'd gone into the bathroom for a minute, so Peter hurried to get the room ready. Though it was his birthday, he wanted to make sure it was an experience that would last in her mind. One that might help outweigh what Brad had put her through.

He ripped the petals off a rose he'd picked up earlier that morning and sprinkled them on the bed. Peter considered the image on Pinterest for a minute, before spreading the petals around some more.

"FRIDAY, lights to 50%." The lights dimmed just enough. They'd be able to see each other, but the candles illuminated the room perfectly. "FRIDAY, play 'Peter's 18th playlist.'"

Just as he silenced his phone, and the first song played quietly over the speaker in his room, the bathroom door creaked open.

"Don't you dare laugh," MJ called from the bathroom.

"Why would I laugh?" Peter asked.

MJ shuffled out nervously, and Peter immediately understood.

That morning she had gone shopping across town so no one she knew would see her. It had taken an hour and a half, but she'd decided on what she felt was the perfect lingerie. It was a matching set: a lacey babydoll and matching bikini underwear. The top half of the babydoll was designed to look like a corset, but without the tightness. It was red with black strings and an additional red strap that crossed over her chest and down the valley of her breasts. The bottom of the babydoll was a sheer black fabric. The panties were the same sheer black fabric, but the sides were cut-out with red straps criss-crossing to hold the sides together.

Peter had already grown stiff upon seeing her. He opened his mouth but lacked the ability to form words.

"I…um. Holy… Jesus, MJ."

"Holy Jesus?" She smirked, trying to overcome how silly she felt.

"You look…" He walked towards her, feeling lacking in his jeans and polo. "You're gorgeous. Like. _Gorgeous_."

"Careful not to drool there, hot stuff." Deep down her heart soared, relieved that he liked it. She took in the changes to the room.

He watched her peer around. "Do you like it? You probably think it's cheesy, but…" He shrugged.

"No, I don't think it's cheesy." She smiled at him. "I love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he whispered, suddenly nervous.

MJ leaned him into and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. "I love you."

He pulled back a little to look at her. "I—I love you too." He'd known about the sex, but this was a surprise. MJ was still really coy about her feelings.

"I think I have for a while. I just… I just didn't know how to tell you."

Peter smoothed her hair behind her ear. "I've known for a while, too. I just didn't want to overwhelm you."

MJ settled back into his arms and kissed him again. "Bed?"

"Oh, yeah. Um, here." He released her and pulled his polo shirt over his head, revealing the sculpted abs she loved. His jeans followed, leaving him in the boxer briefs she'd talked him into wearing recently.

The two climbed onto the bed and settled as comfortably as they could, lying on their sides to face each other. With little hesitation, they leaned into a kiss. Peter ran his tongue along her lip, gaining entrance to massage her tongue with his. He ran his hands all along her body, obsessed with the slight curves at her breasts and hips and turned on more by the feel of the sheer fabric that hid her from him.

MJ let out a quiet moan as his fingers brushed over her nipple. He grinned against her mouth before flicking her nipple to make her moan again.

Not wanting him to feel left out, MJ reached between them and took him in her hand, smiling at the sound of the moan that slid from his mouth. She stroked him slowly through the boxer briefs before reaching into the flap to touch his bare skin. He moaned louder at the skin to skin contact.

Peter in turn dipped his hand down to her panties, his cock straining when he felt how wet she was, how soaked the mesh was.

"MJ, can I…?" He gestured to the panties.

She nodded and lifted herself up so Peter could slide them down her legs. The sight of her still wearing the babydoll, but sans panties make his cock twitch. There was something incredibly hot about it. MJ felt the twitch, pleased she'd given him such a reaction.

Peter continued on, slipping a finger beneath her folds and into her, in awe of the look of pleasure on her face. No matter how many times he saw it, it never failed to turn him on. He slipped in two more fingers.

"Peter…" she breathed.

"Yes, MJ?" His voice was deeper than usual, husky with pleasure.

"It feels so good." She'd paused her own stroking of his member, overcome by the feel of him pressing his fingers into her.

Peter slid his fingers out of her, chuckling at her groan of disappointment. With a gentle motion, he settled her on her back, pushed his boxer briefs down, and straddled her, careful not to press against her.

MJ gazed up at him. "Do you want me to take this off? Or leave it on?"

He considered for a minute. "If you're okay with it, I would really like to see you and touch all of you."

She nodded and lifted herself up a little to pull it over her head and off, dropping it to the floor next to them.

Peter caressed her skin, tracing from her shoulder down, over her breasts, and around her stomach. He palmed her breasts gently at first, and then with more fervor, rubbing her nipples. MJ ground against him, desperate for more friction.

He leaned down so that his body was pressed against hers, taking in the feel of her breasts against him.

"MJ?"

She peered up at him through lustful eyes. "Hm?"

"Are you sure? Like, one hundred percent?" His eyes were full of concern.

MJ reached up and traced along his jawline. "One hundred percent."

He met her hand with his, clasping it as her finger left his jaw. With a kiss to her palm, he positioned himself between her legs and slowly pushed into her.

The feel of her around him nearly sent him over the edge, but he paused to catch himself. Only when he was sure they were both comfortable did he start to thrust in and out.

"Fuck, Peter. You feel amazing."

Peter smiled and reached down to brush her clit briefly as he thrust. She jerked upward, arching her back at the sudden wave of pleasure.

"Shit. Peter…" she whimpered. He circled her clit again, addicted to the way it made her clamp around him with each touch.

He sped up his pace, thrusting faster and pressing harder against her clit.

"Peter…Peter…I'm gonna…" She gasped. "I'm gonna…"

"Yes. MJ. I want to see you cum."

She came with a shudder, and a moan, arching her back into him as he thrust. He kept circling her clit to keep her orgasm going, something he had learned a month before worked really well for her. Another orgasm crashed over her as the first was just ending. She had to bite her lip to keep from calling out, though she knew no one else was on the floor.

Peter was close now too, the feel of her squeezing muscles around him becoming too much for him. With one last thrust, he came inside her, trembling at his release.

He collapsed on top of her, his cock still pushed inside of her, though growing more limp with each moment.

MJ ran her hands along his sides, smiling at the shudder that went through him.

"Thank you."

Peter furrowed his eyebrows down at his girlfriend. "For what? I think I should be the one thanking you."

"For being patient. And for not seeing me differently."

He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "Oh, MJ. I've always seen you differently."

She frowned up at him.

"You're different than every other girl I know. Because you're perfect for me. And I love you."

MJ's frown vanished, replaced with a grin. "I love you too, loser."


End file.
